Vacant Hearts [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Chapter 26 | No Strings

SONG FOR THE CHAPTER: No Strings by Nicole Millar

      It was Christmas break, so I thought that I'd have the apartment all to myself until school started back again. Being alone would allow me to sift through all the things going at the moment, namely with my mom and Julian. So, when Lia came home Thursday morning, a few days after Christmas, I was a little surprised.

      "What are you doing here?" I asked as I watched her enter the apartment, her small suitcase in tow. It wasn't the nicest of greetings, but my surprise got the better of me.

      "What are you doing here?" Lia shot back, looking just as surprised as me. Her dark curls were frizzing at the edges, most likely from the dampness in the air. "I didn't see your car out the front."

      "My car's not here," I informed her. Unfortunately, my car was still at home. The place I wanted to avoid forever.

      Lia set aside her suitcase and dropped onto the couch with a loud sigh. She tugged off her scarf and flung it onto the single couch adjacent to her.

      "So, what are you doing here?" I repeated, extremely curious. Lia's mom was usually big on celebrating Christmas as a family, even on the days following the holiday.

      "I got sick of my family," she said simply, a small smile tugging on her lips. She unzipped her black, velvet boots and wriggled her toes.

      I laughed. "Seriously?"

      "Seriously. The holidays always turn my mom into a maniac, even when Christmas is over. I've also been tempted to throttle my siblings more times than I can count. And my dad had the ridiculous idea to attempt to teach me how to change a tyre, even though it's like thirty degrees outside. I couldn't take it anymore. I thought it was safer for everyone if I just left," Lia told me, looking exhausted.

      My expression turned to mock seriousness. "Right. You don't want to commit homicide, especially during the holiday season."

      Lia laughed, visibly relaxing a little. "Right."

      "Want me to make us some hot chocolate?" I offered, already heading into the kitchen.

      "Yes, please. With marshmallows."

      I began making our drinks, starting to see the positive side to Lia coming home early. It meant that we could spend more time together before we got swamped with schoolwork again soon. It'd been a while since we properly hung out and I missed that.

      "You never answered my question," Lia said when I handed the mug hot chocolate to her.

      I sat back down on the couch, resting my feet up on the coffee table.

      "And what question was that?" I took a sip of my drink, accidentally scalding my tongue a little. I winced and placed the mug down on a coaster before I was tempted to drink more and burn my intestines this time.

      "Why'd you come home to the apartment?" Lia asked, peering over at me. She continued to sip her drink, obviously not having a problem burning all her organs.

      I exhaled slowly. "I had a fight with my mom."

      Lia raised her eyebrows. "Again? That woman is insufferable."

      "Tell me about it," I mumbled, fiddling with the hem of my mustard-yellow sweater. My mind shot back to Christmas day, to the awful things my mom said to me and how she had the nerve to slap me in front of everyone.